The Bristol Beaufighter was a British twin-engine military aircraft used as a night fighter and maritime strike aircraft during the Second World War. Heavy gun armament, airborne radar and later torpedo and rocket installations allowed it to undertake missions ranging from air defence to attacks on shipping.[1]Bristol Beaufighter TFXRoyal Air Force Museum · rafmuseum.org.uk · Accessed 2026-09-13Open source details
Night-fighter service
The prototype flew on 17 July 1939, and production deliveries to the RAF began in April 1940. Equipped with airborne interception radar, Beaufighters became important during the German night bombing campaign of the winter of 1940–1941. Radar helped the crew locate targets in conditions where visual searching alone was inadequate.[1]Bristol Beaufighter TFXRoyal Air Force Museum · rafmuseum.org.uk · Accessed 2026-09-13Open source details
Coastal and overseas operations
Coastal Command adopted the Beaufighter as a strike aircraft while retaining its substantial gun battery. Torpedoes and rockets added methods of attacking enemy shipping. The type also operated in the Middle and Far East, so its history encompasses several campaigns beyond the defence of Britain.[1]Bristol Beaufighter TFXRoyal Air Force Museum · rafmuseum.org.uk · Accessed 2026-09-13Open source details
The TF Mk X was a major torpedo-fighter version. The RAF Museum's RD253 was built in October 1944 at Bristol's shadow factory at Weston-super-Mare with Hercules XVII engines. Its production record identifies it as one of a large batch of maritime aircraft constructed during the final year of the European war.[2]Bristol Beaufighter TF Mk.X RD253: Individual historyRoyal Air Force Museum · rafmuseum.org.uk · Accessed 2026-09-13Open source details
Export and target towing
RD253 was ferried to Portugal in March 1945 as part of a group of sixteen aircraft supplied to the Portuguese Naval Air Arm. RAF crews helped deliver the aircraft in several formations. This documented export history illustrates the movement of British wartime designs into the service of other maritime air forces.[2]Bristol Beaufighter TF Mk.X RD253: Individual historyRoyal Air Force Museum · rafmuseum.org.uk · Accessed 2026-09-13Open source details
After operational withdrawal, Beaufighters continued as target tugs. The RAF's final flight of the type was a TT10 target-towing sortie from Seletar on 17 May 1960, nearly twenty-one years after the prototype's first flight.[1]Bristol Beaufighter TFXRoyal Air Force Museum · rafmuseum.org.uk · Accessed 2026-09-13Open source details